Written by

Dan Mancini, right, of the Mental Health Association of Westchester, working with FEMA's Project Hope, visits residents of Ba Mar Mobile Home park in Stony Point on Dec. 14. / John Meore/The Journal News

More information

To reach Project Hope and Westchester Jewish Community Services call 914-336-0351 or 914-336-0350. To reach Project Hope and the Mental Health Association of Westchester call 914-345-5900, ext. 7543 or 7544.

More

ADVERTISEMENT

The water has receded, many of the trees that snapped like toothpicks have been ground into wood chips and the lights, finally, are back on.

But for many people in the Lower Hudson Valley, Superstorm Sandy still hasn’t ended.

Lives were lost, homes ruined, businesses shuttered — all because of the daylong storm almost two months ago.

Now, crisis teams funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are going door to door in some of the hardest-hit areas of Westchester and Rockland to offer assistance.

“Right after the storm everyone is focused on concrete needs — finding housing, fixing damage, regrouping,” said Ruthanne Abramovich of the Mental Health Association of Westchester. “It’s not until later, sometimes much later, that the emotional impact hits.”

The association, along with Westchester Jewish Community Services, is sending teams of counselors to areas affected by the storm and its aftermath.

They are part of Project Hope, a FEMA program designed to help people in areas of New York hardest hit by the hurricane.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo secured an $8 million grant for the program. Part of that grant, $200,000, is funding the Mental Health Association of Westchester program, and $165,000 was allocated to Westchester Jewish Community Services.

The groups are coordinating their efforts, with the Mental Health Association covering northern Westchester and Rockland and Jewish Community Services focusing on southern Westchester.

“We’ve found a variety of different reactions,” said Cristina Konior, project coordinator for Westchester Jewish Community Services. “Some people reported no damage. Some were displaced. Some areas still don’t have people back yet.”

Many people report higher levels of stress and irritability, she said. The people they visit are given information about how to get assistance from a variety of agencies.

Many of the Project Hope workers were hired a year ago in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene and were about to complete their work when Superstorm Sandy hit.

(Page 2 of 2)

Dan Mancini is one of a dozen counselors for the Mental Health Association who is staying on to reach out to Sandy victims.

He spent one day this month surveying Ba Mar Mobile Home park in Stony Point, which was nearly washed away when the Hudson River spilled over its banks during the storm.

Many of the mobile homes were tossed around the riverfront property, leaving just about all damaged, some beyond hope of repair.

Few families have moved back in. Those who have are still trying to fix their wrecked homes.

As Mancini walked through the mobile home park, he took with him a stack of fliers explaining the services offered by the mental health group.

In one part of the park, he saw two sets of legs sticking out from under a house. The two men ripping insulation out from under the unit declined to stop their work to chat with Mancini, but both promised to take a look at the piece of paper if he left it nearby.

At another home, Mancini encountered Bruce Butler, who stopped his repairs long enough to recount the night that 10 feet of water overtook the property.

Butler said he heeded the advice to evacuate, but his wife didn’t want to leave the family’s cats. Hours later, he said, his wife called him to tell him that water was seeping in the door. Police in a rescue boat were able to take her out of the home.

Butler — in sometimes salty language — made light of the discomfort and inconvenience he and his family have suffered in the weeks since.

“What else are you going to do? Cry about it?” he asked. “It happened. Now you have to go on.”

Many people tend to minimize the storm’s effect, said Norma Pereira-Mora, a counselor who was canvassing neighborhoods in Somers trying to find people who needed assistance.

“They look at what happened in Staten Island and the Jersey Shore, and it makes them feel that they don’t have it that bad,” she said.

But sometimes people do reveal the extent of their losses and despair, Pereira-Mora said.

“We tell them that we can’t replace everything the storm took away,” she said. “But we can be here to help.”